The National Lawyers Guild (NLG), Immigration and Human Rights Committee, and the Sheller Center for Social Justice recently hosted a two-part event focused on workers’ rights, especially undocumented workers. The first day featured a screening of the documentary The Hand That Feeds. On the second day, a panel discussion focused on issues raised by the film and facing low-wage workers generally.

The Hand That Feeds follows Mahoma Lopez as he works to organize his fellow workers—many of who are undocumented—at a New York City restaurant to bargain for better pay and working conditions. The film documents the challenges Mr. Lopez and his fellow workers faced, including achieving recognition as a union and securing work after winning that recognition. That the workers’ campaign takes place against the backdrop of the Occupy Wall Street protests in Manhattan serves to highlight the specific challenges facing Mr. Lopez and his coworkers as undocumented workers. Their immigration status left potential union members susceptible to threats of arrest and deportation.

As a follow-up to the documentary, the panel discussed issues facing low-wage workers, specifically undocumented workers in the restaurant industry. A few themes appeared throughout the discussion: the moral imperative behind higher wages, the power of consumers, and the power of a narrative. The event provided a timely look into the movement for higher wages for undocumented and low-wage workers, many of whom work at restaurants frequented by Temple Law students.

Jonathan Grode, U.S. Practice Director at Green and Spiegel, joins the podcast to discuss the evolving landscape of business immigration law. Grode, who serves as an adjunct professor at Temple University Beasley School of Law, also shares humanitarian considerations and an anecdote from 2017’s travel ban.

Professor Stefanie A. Lindquist (Editor-in-Chief of Temple Law Review, Volume 61) joins the podcast to discuss the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. Professor Lindquist serves as deputy provost and vice president for academic affairs at Arizona State University and has written extensively on the Court, including in her book, “Measuring Judicial Activism.” The […]

The Parliament Podcast welcomes Judge Nelson Diaz (LAW 1972) to discuss his forthcoming memoir, “Not from Here, Not from There.” The book chronicles Diaz from his youth in the Bronx to his ascent to becoming the first Latino judge to serve in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, general counsel for the Department of Housing and Urban […]

Temple Law Review, Volume 91 has launched the publication’s first podcast. In its first episode, the podcast welcomes Steven Silver (LAW 2013) to discuss the Supreme Court’s Murphy v. NCAA decision, local adoption of sports betting, and related considerations such as integrity fees and data agreements. The episode is available on both SoundCloud and YouTube.